Chicago Bulls Free Agency: Grading the DeMar DeRozan Sign-and-Trade Scenarios
The interwebs are bursting with DeMar DeRozan trade ideas, some realistic, some nutty. Which deals will help all the teams involved?
IT’S DONE.
It’s over
I have to reconcile myself.
I must move on.
No, we must move on.
Chicago’s DeMar DeRozan Era has come to an end. And it’s bumming us out.
Thing is, the future Hall of Famer’s departure from Chicago was both inevitable and necessary: Inevitable because he’s 35, and there aren’t too many 35-year-old NBA players willing to endure a rebuild; and necessary because there aren’t too many NBA franchises willing to keep a thirtysomething around for a rebuild.
The interwebs are well aware of the situation, and NBA Twitter has gone bonkers with their trade suggestions. I’m all for celebrating bonkers trade suggestions, so here are a few, accompanied by my breathtaking punditry as to how the deal in question might help or hurt the dealers.
(NOTE #1: I’ll punt the salary cap gymnastics over to NBA finance expert John Hollinger. Feel free to DM him. He’ll love it.)
(NOTE #2: Most of the below will require a third team to facilitate the deal. I’m far too lazy to concoct three-team trades, so, again, take it up with Hollinger.)
MIAMI HEAT
CHICAGO RECEIVES
Tyler Herro
Duncan Robinson
MIAMI RECEIVES
DeMar DeRozan
MIAMI: The concept of shipping a Herro/Robinson combo platter to Chicago has been a thing for months, although up until last week, Zach Lavine was looking like he’d be the contribution to the Heat cause.
DeRozan makes okay sense for Miami — but just okay. A Deebo/Jimmy Butler/Bam Adabeyo big(ish) three is swell, but not swell enough to get past Jayson’s Celtics, or Joel’s Sixers, or Jalen’s Knicks, or Giannis’ Bucks. And being that DeRozan and Butler are both in their mid-30s, this union won’t help Miami beyond 2026.
On the plus side, they’d get Robinson’s garbage contract off of their books, so there’s that.
GRADE: B-
CHICAGO: Whether the Bulls will admit it or not, this is the kind of return on a Deebo deal that will likely come to fruition: One rotation player and one lousy contract. (The Bulls claim they don’t want to take on any lousy contracts. But they will. They will.)
Problem is, the rotation player in question is Tyler Herro, a perfectly swell piece, but what with the zillion guards on their roster, not a piece Chicago particularly needs. If they can somehow flip Herro for a sweet-shooting big, great. If not, meh.
GRADE: B-
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
CHICAGO RECEIVES
Kai Jones
Norman Powell
Bodies to make the money work
Draft considerations
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS RECEIVE
DeMar DeRozan
LOS ANGELES: The Clips lost Paul George, and without him, they’re a big bowl of whatever. With him last season, L.A. was slightly better than whatever, so if they intend to maintain relevancy, they need a quality body to replace George.
DeRozan would meld nicely with Kawhi Leonard, but since they’re both ball stoppers, putting him alongside James Harden could be problematic.
Deebo won’t take the Clippers to the Promised Land, but he’ll catapult them into the low end of the West’s top-six.
GRADE: B
CHICAGO: There would need to be some fancy-schmancy monetary machinations to get the finances aligned, but this would be a nice haul: A potential-laden big and quality vet who can hit a three. Not ideal, admittedly, but Chicago needs to take what they can get.
GRADE: B
LOS ANGELES LAKERS
CHICAGO RECEIVES
Rui Hachimura
Jalen Hood-Schifino
Gabe Vincent
LOS ANGELES LAKERS RECEIVE
DeMar DeRozan
LOS ANGELES: Like the Miami deal, Lavine-ized iterations of this trade have been bandied about for months, which is all fine and good, but at the end of the day, it’s about LeBron James. If this deal makes LBJ happy, you do it. If it doesn’t, you don’t.
It’ll make LBJ happy. So get it done, Lakers. Get it done.
GRADE: B
CHICAGO: This one doesn’t move too many needles. Hachimura, theoretically the best Laker in the trade, is similar in skill-set to Patrick Williams, at whom the Bulls just threw a whole bunch of ducats. Compounding the issue, Chicago’s 2024 first round pick, Matas Buzelis, is also a frontcourt tweener. Overlap galore.
As for the potential backcourt additions, the injury-prone Vincent’s contract is silly and Hood-Schifino is unproven — and the two things the Bulls don’t need at the guard position are a neophyte point and an overpriced, banged-up backup.
GRADE: C-
SACRAMENTO KINGS
CHICAGO RECEIVES
Harrison Barnes
Kevin Huerter
SACRAMENTO RECEIVES
DeMar DeRozan
SACRAMENTO: Even if they bring DeRozan into the mix, Sactown isn’t strong enough to compete for a high playoff spot, let alone a ring. But if the young Kings have designs on a Play-In bid, they could use both a veteran locker room presence and a fourth-quarter-bucket-getter — and Deebo is both.
And if they can also shed Barnes’ contract, so much the better.
GRADE: A
CHICAGO: Since he’s been toiling away with the distinctly unsexy small-market Kings for the last six seasons, folks forget that Barnes was a key component of Golden State’s 2015 championship run. He’s a tough defender, a grinder, and a quiet leader on the court. Sounds like a welcome addition to a rebuilding roster to me.
Chicago has expressed interest in Huerter, and understandably so: He has two more seasons left on a reasonable contract, and he’s an above-average outside shooter. Sure, the 25-year-old has been known to get an ouchie or two, but if he can manage to stay out of the trainer’s room, the former Terrapin could neatly lead a second unit.
GRADE: A-
SAN ANTONIO SPURS
CHICAGO RECEIVES
Malaki Branham
Devonte’ Graham
Keldon Johnson
SAN ANTONIO RECEIVES
DeMar DeRozan
SAN ANTONIO: Spurs coach Gregg Popovich adores DeRozan and Deebo adores Pop. And what with sophomore freak Victor Wembanyama and rookie stud-in-the-making Stephon Castle in the mix, a veteran voice and some sideline coach/player love could be just what the Spurs need.
GRADE: A+
CHICAGO: Graham is a rental and Branham is a dart-throw, but Johnson is a keeper, a flexible combo forward who could send Patrick Williams to the bench. (Williams would make for an ideal sixth man. An expensive sixth man, granted, but ideal nonetheless.)
If Chicago can somehow walk away from this whole free agency mess with a 24-year-old starter like Johnson, that’s a huge win.